Couturier was considered a long shot to crack the Flyers lineup but he has already played 10 games and Philadelphia has burned a year of his entry level contract. Landeskog and Larsson have been told they will play for their respective teams after the nine game threshold, while Nugent-Hopkins has not been told one way or the other despite picking up nine points in nine games playing on the top line in Edmonton with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

The Bruins play only twice this week, for the second week in a row. David Krejci and Nathan Horton are on the same line once again, with Benoit Pouliot on the wing. Tuukka Rask is not seeing as much time in goal as thought but that should change later on in the season as the Bruins want to keep veteran Tim Thomas as fresh as possible for the playoffs. Thomas is 3-3-0 this season, but with the Bruins playing only twice, expect to see Thomas in both games.

BUFFALO

Games this week

vs. Philadelphia, vs. Calgary, @ Ottawa

Notes

The Sabres play three games in four nights so look for Jhonas Enroth to play once in place of Ryan Miller. The Sabres are rested on Friday when they take on the Calgary Flames who are in Detroit Thursday. The Sabres have been struggling on the power play of late as they were 1-17 going into action on October 27. Opposing teams have been focusing on quarterback Christian Ehrhoff and that seems to have been working of late as the Sabres have not been good with the man-advantage. Ville Leino moved to the wing alongside Derek Roy and Drew Stafford. Tyler Ennis is out with an ankle injury.

CALGARY

Games this week

vs. Vancouver, @ Detroit, @ Buffalo, @ Colorado

Notes

Calgary finishes up a long home stand before hitting the road for three games. They play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Henrik Karlsson to play once in place of Miikka Kiprusoff. They are tired when they shuffle off to Buffalo Friday as they are in Detroit the previous night. Curtis Glencross is out with a lower body injury. Matthew Stajan and Niklas Hagman have been healthy scratches this week. The deal with the Maple Leafs for Dion Phaneuf and Keith Aulie in January, 2010 is looking worse and worse each week.

CAROLINA

Games this week

vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Washington, vs. Dallas

Notes

Tuomo Ruutu was off to a tough start with a solitary assist in his first five games, but has three goals and an assist in his last four games. He is now playing with Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen while Jiri Tlusty is now playing on the top line with Eric Staal. Staal has three goals and five points in nine games with a horrendous minus-nine rating.

CHICAGO

Games this week

vs. Nashville, @ Florida, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Vancouver

Notes

The Blackhawks play four times including three in four nights so look for Ray Emery to play at least once in place of Corey Crawford. Rostislav Olesz should play his first game in Florida since the Panthers dealt him at the trade deadline. The Blackhawks are tired on Friday when they are in Tampa Bay after playing Florida in Sunrise the previous night. Marian Hossa has been hot of late with goals in five straight games heading into Friday’s action. He missed one game in that stretch and currently has six points in seven games. Defenseman Nick Leddy has a goal and four points in seven games thus far, playing with Duncan Keith. He has lots of offensive upside and is worth taking in all deeper keeper leagues.

COLORADO

Games this week

vs. Phoenix, @ Dallas, vs. Calgary

Notes

Matt Duchene is off to a tough start and actually saw fourth line minutes this week with Joakim Lindstrom and Chuck Kobasew, playing only 13:10 minutes in a 4-2 loss Wednesday. He is too good to get bottom-six minutes but you should bench him until he breaks out of this slump. Peter Mueller is still out with a head injury that is likely concussion related. Gabriel Landeskog is being compared to Peter Forsberg and that is not the worst hockey player to be compared to. I love it when (Kyle) Quincey and (David) Jones hook up for a goal.

COLUMBUS

Games this week

vs. Toronto, @ Philadelphia

Notes

The Blue Jackets only play twice this week, so bench your Columbus players with the exception of Rick Nash, Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski. If Jeff Carter is healthy, he will return to Philadelphia for the first time with the Blue Jackets. He will definitely be up for the game against the team that surprisingly traded him away. The Blue Jackets will be rested on Thursday when they entertain the Maple Leafs but Toronto will be tired as they are in New Jersey Wednesday. The Blue Jackets were the last team to win a game this season, and did it in style by beating the Red Wings 4-1 Tuesday with Grant Clitsome garnering three assists.

DALLAS

Games this week

vs. Colorado, @ Carolina

Notes

Kari Lehtonen has been outstanding in the early going, winning his first seven games, a Dallas franchise record. His GAA of 1.54 and .955 save percentage have been outstanding as well before Thursday’s loss to the Kings. Lehtonen was considered a huge injury risk when the Stars got him from Atlanta in 2010, but he dedicated himself to getting in the best possible shape possible last year and the proof has been in the pudding. Adam Burish moved up to the top line with Mike Ribeiro­ early in the week but Michael Ryder should return to the line, dropping Burish back to the fourth unit. If you took Radek Dvorak in your fantasy pool, you likely are regretting it so far as he has one assist and a minus-one rating in nine games.

Couturier was considered a long shot to crack the Flyers lineup but he has already played 10 games and Philadelphia has burned a year of his entry level contract. Landeskog and Larsson have been told they will play for their respective teams after the nine game threshold, while Nugent-Hopkins has not been told one way or the other despite picking up nine points in nine games playing on the top line in Edmonton with Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle.

The Bruins play only twice this week, for the second week in a row. David Krejci and Nathan Horton are on the same line once again, with Benoit Pouliot on the wing. Tuukka Rask is not seeing as much time in goal as thought but that should change later on in the season as the Bruins want to keep veteran Tim Thomas as fresh as possible for the playoffs. Thomas is 3-3-0 this season, but with the Bruins playing only twice, expect to see Thomas in both games.

BUFFALO

Games this week

vs. Philadelphia, vs. Calgary, @ Ottawa

Notes

The Sabres play three games in four nights so look for Jhonas Enroth to play once in place of Ryan Miller. The Sabres are rested on Friday when they take on the Calgary Flames who are in Detroit Thursday. The Sabres have been struggling on the power play of late as they were 1-17 going into action on October 27. Opposing teams have been focusing on quarterback Christian Ehrhoff and that seems to have been working of late as the Sabres have not been good with the man-advantage. Ville Leino moved to the wing alongside Derek Roy and Drew Stafford. Tyler Ennis is out with an ankle injury.

CALGARY

Games this week

vs. Vancouver, @ Detroit, @ Buffalo, @ Colorado

Notes

Calgary finishes up a long home stand before hitting the road for three games. They play four times this week including three games in four nights so look for Henrik Karlsson to play once in place of Miikka Kiprusoff. They are tired when they shuffle off to Buffalo Friday as they are in Detroit the previous night. Curtis Glencross is out with a lower body injury. Matthew Stajan and Niklas Hagman have been healthy scratches this week. The deal with the Maple Leafs for Dion Phaneuf and Keith Aulie in January, 2010 is looking worse and worse each week.

CAROLINA

Games this week

vs. Tampa Bay, vs. Washington, vs. Dallas

Notes

Tuomo Ruutu was off to a tough start with a solitary assist in his first five games, but has three goals and an assist in his last four games. He is now playing with Jeff Skinner and Jussi Jokinen while Jiri Tlusty is now playing on the top line with Eric Staal. Staal has three goals and five points in nine games with a horrendous minus-nine rating.

CHICAGO

Games this week

vs. Nashville, @ Florida, @ Tampa Bay, vs. Vancouver

Notes

The Blackhawks play four times including three in four nights so look for Ray Emery to play at least once in place of Corey Crawford. Rostislav Olesz should play his first game in Florida since the Panthers dealt him at the trade deadline. The Blackhawks are tired on Friday when they are in Tampa Bay after playing Florida in Sunrise the previous night. Marian Hossa has been hot of late with goals in five straight games heading into Friday’s action. He missed one game in that stretch and currently has six points in seven games. Defenseman Nick Leddy has a goal and four points in seven games thus far, playing with Duncan Keith. He has lots of offensive upside and is worth taking in all deeper keeper leagues.

COLORADO

Games this week

vs. Phoenix, @ Dallas, vs. Calgary

Notes

Matt Duchene is off to a tough start and actually saw fourth line minutes this week with Joakim Lindstrom and Chuck Kobasew, playing only 13:10 minutes in a 4-2 loss Wednesday. He is too good to get bottom-six minutes but you should bench him until he breaks out of this slump. Peter Mueller is still out with a head injury that is likely concussion related. Gabriel Landeskog is being compared to Peter Forsberg and that is not the worst hockey player to be compared to. I love it when (Kyle) Quincey and (David) Jones hook up for a goal.

COLUMBUS

Games this week

vs. Toronto, @ Philadelphia

Notes

The Blue Jackets only play twice this week, so bench your Columbus players with the exception of Rick Nash, Jeff Carter and James Wisniewski. If Jeff Carter is healthy, he will return to Philadelphia for the first time with the Blue Jackets. He will definitely be up for the game against the team that surprisingly traded him away. The Blue Jackets will be rested on Thursday when they entertain the Maple Leafs but Toronto will be tired as they are in New Jersey Wednesday. The Blue Jackets were the last team to win a game this season, and did it in style by beating the Red Wings 4-1 Tuesday with Grant Clitsome garnering three assists.

DALLAS

Games this week

vs. Colorado, @ Carolina

Notes

Kari Lehtonen has been outstanding in the early going, winning his first seven games, a Dallas franchise record. His GAA of 1.54 and .955 save percentage have been outstanding as well before Thursday’s loss to the Kings. Lehtonen was considered a huge injury risk when the Stars got him from Atlanta in 2010, but he dedicated himself to getting in the best possible shape possible last year and the proof has been in the pudding. Adam Burish moved up to the top line with Mike Ribeiro­ early in the week but Michael Ryder should return to the line, dropping Burish back to the fourth unit. If you took Radek Dvorak in your fantasy pool, you likely are regretting it so far as he has one assist and a minus-one rating in nine games.

DETROIT

Games this week

vs. Minnesota, vs. Calgary, vs. Anaheim

Notes

The Red Wings play the Wild in the back half of a home-and-home series so tempers could flare. The Red Wings are home for the start of a six game home stand. Henrik Zetterberg is off to a very slow start with a goal and an assist in seven games. Coach Mike Babcock is thinking about splitting up Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk. We wonder who will get possession of Daniel Cleary, their current linemate. Mike Commodore is ready to return after suffering a knee injury. He wanted to play Tuesday against his former Blue Jacket teammates, but that was not to be.

EDMONTON

Games this week

@ Los Angeles, @ Phoenix

Notes

The Oilers embark on a six game road trip starting this week. They only play twice this week, both on the road, so we can’t really recommend anyone. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has nine points in his first nine NHL games, but the Oilers have not committed to keeping him beyond nine games as of yet. The Oilers may be worried that he is physically unable to handle the NHL over a whole season at this young age, but he certainly has a boatload of talent. Ryan Whitney is out yet again, this time for three weeks with a knee injury. Sam Gagner played in his first game on October 22 in six months after suffering an ankle injury. He will have a breakthrough season one of these years and someone in your fantasy pool will celebrate. Corey Potter has seemed to replace Theo Peckham on the Oilers blueline, so start looking elsewhere at this time if you had Peckham in your fantasy lineup for penalty minutes.

FLORIDA

Games this week

vs. Winnipeg, vs. Chicago, vs. Tampa Bay

Notes

Florida is home for all three games this week. The Panthers are giving goaltender Jacob Markstrom every opportunity to shine in net and he hasn’t disappointed thus far as he seems to have taken over at this time from Jose Theodore. Markstrom was thought to be the best player outside the NHL a couple of seasons ago, but he struggled in his first North American season last year at the AHL level. But this year has been different and the Panthers are benefitting. Eric Gudbranson will stick with the team past the nine game mark, burning one season in his entry level contract. He has good offensive upside and is a very good defensive player, a Chris Pronger type. That’s not too shabby.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week

vs. Edmonton, vs. Pittsburgh

Notes

The Kings play twice this week, both at home. We recommend benching all your Los Angeles players this week, with the exception of Anze Kopitar, if you can. Drew Doughty (shoulder) is hoping to return to the lineup on October 29 and that’s great news for the Kings as he is one of the top blueliners in the game when healthy. Scott Parse will played on Thursday for the first time since the Kings’ trip to Europe to open the season and he lined up with Dustin Brown and Mike Richards on the second line, with Dustin Penner moving down to the third unit. Jon Quick was working on three straight shutouts heading into Thursday’s action but gave up three goals to Dallas. Still, he had a shutout streak of 202:11 minutes, a Los Angeles record.

MINNESOTA

Games this week

@ Detroit, vs. Vancouver, vs. St. Louis

Notes

The Wild play Detroit on the back half of a home-and-home series on Tuesday so look for Colton Gillies to add to his penalty minute total. The Wild are rested on Saturday when they are home to the Blues but St. Louis should be tired after facing the Canucks Friday. Mikko Koivu has only three assists in his first eight games and rookie coach Mike Yeo has moved Cal Clutterbuck to the top line with Koivu and Dany Heatley while Devin Setoguchi has dropped to the second unit replacing Guillaume Latendresse who drops to the fourth line. The Wild have been very impressed with rookie Brett Bulmer and it looks like he’ll stick with the team and not go back to junior hockey before his 10th game.

MONTREAL

Games this week

@ Ottawa, @ New York Rangers

Notes

The Canadiens only play twice this week so bench your Habs if you can. They are actually a tired team on Saturday when they face the Rangers at MSG after playing in Ottawa Friday. Montreal is off to a horrible start and fired assistant coach Perry Pearn on Wednesday, 90 minutes before the played the Flyers. It must have hit home as the Canadiens were dominant in winning their first game on home ice this season. Max Pacioretty injured tendons in his wrist and was supposed to be out a week but surprisingly played against Philly and scored twice while adding an assist, giving him nine points in nine games. Scott Gomez is hoping to return this week from an upper body injury. He has been a major disappointment since signing in July, 2010 as he scored only seven times last season and has only one assist in six games this year.

NASHVILLE

Games this week

@ Chicago, @ Phoenix, @ San Jose

Notes

The Predators are on the road for all three as they begin a five game road trip. Nashville will be rested on Thursday when they play the Coyotes, but Phoenix plays the night before in Colorado before travelling home. Patric Hornqvist is not playing very much but it’s probably due to a foot injury. Francis Bouillon (concussion) and Mike Fisher (shoulder) finally made their 2011-12 season debuts this past week. The Predators sent rookie defenseman Mattias Ekholm to Brynas of the Swedish Elite League for the rest of the season. Look for Ekholm to be back next season.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week

vs. Toronto, @ Philadelphia, vs. Winnipeg

Notes

The Devils play three games in four nights so look for Johan Hedberg to play once in place of Martin Brodeur. Brodeur (bruised right shoulder) should be back in the lineup this week as he started full practices with the Devils on Wednesday. New Jersey will be tired on Thursday when they take on the Flyers after playing the Maple Leafs the previous night. The Devils are really hurting at center with injuries to Travis Zajac, Jacob Josefson and Eric Boulton and claimed Ryan Carter off waivers from Florida. Zach Parise was forced to move to center earlier in the week with all the injuries and he was the pivot on the top unit between Ilya Kovalchuk and Nick Palmieri. Don’t expect this to last.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week

vs. Winnipeg, vs. Washington

Notes

The Islanders play only twice this week so we suggest benching your New York players with the exception of John Tavares, P.A. Parenteau and Mark Streit. The Islanders will be rested on Saturday when they face a tired Washington team who play in Carolina the previous night. New York has been using Evgeni Nabokov in net of late as Al Montoya has been in the press box and Rick DiPietro on the bench, backing up Nabokov. Milan Jurcina made his seasonal debut on Thursday after being out with a groin injury. DiPietro was forced to play in a shootout when Nabokov was injured on Thursday, so he picked up the overtime loss without actually picking up a minute of action. Nino Niederreiter is close to returning to action. He has been out since training camp with a groin injury.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week

vs. San Jose, vs. Anaheim, vs. Montreal, vs. Winnipeg

Notes

The Rangers finish up a six game home stand at the refurbished MSG. They play three games in four nights so look for Martin Biron to play once in place of Henrik Lundqvist. Despite playing four times this week, the Rangers are actually the rested team on Saturday when they face the Canadiens as the Habs are in Ottawa the previous night. Wojtek Wolski has only played three games this season as he has battled a groin injury. Marian Gaborik has five points in his first eight games with new center Brad Richards.

OTTAWA

Games this week

@ Boston, vs. Montreal, vs. Buffalo

Notes

The Senators returned Mika Zibanejad to Sweden so they would not have to burn a year of his entry level contract. Daniel Alfredsson is off to a good start after an injury-plagued horrible season last year. He has seven points in his first nine games including four goals. Jason Spezza is off to an incredibly hot start with five goals and 13 points in his first eight games. He is coming off back-to-back 57 point seasons and likely went fairly low in most drafts.

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week

@ Buffalo, vs. New Jersey, vs. Columbus

Notes

Philadelphia plays four times this week including three in four nights so look for Sergei Bobrovsky to play at least once in place of Ilya Bryzgalov. The Flyers will be a rested team when they face a tired New Jersey team on Thursday as the Devils face off against Toronto on Wednesday. James van Riemsdyk was dropped to the third line alongside Matt Read and Jakub Voracek, while Scott Hartnell moved to the top line with Claude Giroux and Jaromir Jagr. Brayden Schenn was recalled from the minors early in the week but suffered a broken left foot Wednesday against Montreal and will miss four-six weeks. Chris Pronger suffered an eye injury against Toronto but it looks like he’ll miss only two-three weeks and will be allowed to do light workouts on the weekend. The Flyers really miss his presence on the blueline and it showed in a 9-8 loss to Winnipeg Thursday.

PHOENIX

Games this week

@ Colorado, vs. Nashville, vs. Edmonton

Notes

The Coyotes play three games in four nights this week so expect to see Jason LaBarbera at least once in place of Mike Smith. The Coyotes are tired on Thursday when they face Nashville as they are in Denver to face the Avs the night before. RFA Kyle Turris has asked the Coyotes for a trade but GM Don Maloney has refused to budge and he could miss the entire season. Martin Hanzal has been hot of late and now has seven points in nine games. Shane Doan scored his 300th career goal on Tuesday. The Coyotes have recalled last season’s Hobey Baker Award winner, Andy Miele to the NHL. He saw limited time in his first game but played on the third line with Shane Doan and Mikkel Boedker Thursday.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week

@ San Jose, @ Los Angeles

Notes

The Penguins play only two games this week and do the same next week. Everyone is still awaiting word as to when Sidney Crosby will don the skates and play a regular season game for the Penguins. Zybnek Michalek suffered a broken finger this past week and will be out four-six weeks. James Neal is tied for the NHL lead in goals with nine and can hardly wait until he has Crosby setting him up. Evgeni Malkin returned to action this past week after being out almost two weeks with a knee injury.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week

vs. Vancouver, @ Minnesota

Notes

The Blues only play twice this week and are rested when they play Vancouver on Frday as the Canucks will travel from Minnesota after playing the previous night. The tables are turned on Saturday as the Blues travel to Minnesota to play the rested Wild. There is a goaltending controversy as Brian Elliott seems to have the top job at this time after winning all four outings while Jaroslav Halak is 1-4-0 with a .835 save percentage and a 3.47 GAA. It was thought that David Backes would miss some time with a possible concussion suffered on Saturday but he was back in the lineup Wednesday.

SAN JOSE

Games this week

@ New York Rangers, vs. Pittsburgh, vs. Nashville

Notes

The Sharks start a six game home stand with Thursday’s game against the Penguins.

Antti Niemi has returned to form after a couple of shaky starts to begin the season. He is 3-1 thus far but has given up only three goals in his last two starts in 59 shots. Joe Thornton picked up his 700th career assist on Tuesday. Martin Havlat has been a force on the second unit since returning to action after off-season shoulder surgery. Tommy Wingels was sent to the minors once Havlat returned.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week

@ Carolina, vs. Chicago, @ Florida

Notes

The Lightning are rested Friday when they are home to the Blackhawks who travel across the state after playing Florida Thursday. Steve Stamkos got off to a slow start but now has six goals in ten games. Dwayne Roloson is struggling so Mathieu Garon has been seeing more action. Marc-Andre Bergeron leads all NHLers in assists with 10.

TORONTO

Games this week

@ New Jersey, @ Columbus, vs. Boston

Notes

The Maple Leafs play three games in four nights so look for Jonas Gustavsson to see action once in place of James Reimer. The Maple Leafs are tired Thursday when they travel to Columbus as they are in New Jersey to play the Devils the previous night. Toronto is off to their best start in years as they are 6-2-1 after playing .500 hockey during a four game road trip that ended on October 27. Reimer is currently on the injured list with whiplash, so the Leafs were forced to recall Ben Scrivens to back up Gustavsson, but are hoping the injury is not a concussion which could keep him on the shelf indefinitely. Phil Kessel is still leading the NHL in scoring and who would have thought that could ever happen. Toronto has a lot of depth on the blueline and there are NHL teams that are calling GM Brian Burke looking for that excess defenseman that could help their teams, but so far no deal has been made.

VANCOUVER

Games this week

@ Calgary, @ Minnesota, @ St. Louis, @ Chicago

Notes

The Canucks play all four games on the road this week. They play three games in four nights so look for the struggling Roberto Luongo to share the net with Cory Schneider. The Canucks are tired on Friday when they play the Blues as they have to travel from Minnesota the previous night. David Booth is the newest member of the Canucks as the Panthers dealt him last week for Mikael Samuelsson and Marco Sturm. Booth was in tears when the news of the trade broke, but he is now happy to be a Canuck. Ryan Kesler has only two points in his first five games.

WASHINGTON

Games this week

vs. Anaheim, @ Carolina, @ New York Islanders

Notes

The Capitals are a tired team Saturday when they play the Islanders in Long Island as they face Carolina on the road Friday. The Capitals became the last NHL team to hit the loss column on October 27 when the Oilers stopped their seven game winning streak. Mike Green is day-to-day with an ankle injury. Tomas Vokoun was the third star last week as he won three games, giving up only three goals.

WINNNIPEG

Games this week

@ Florida, @ New York Islanders, @ New Jersey, @ New York Rangers

Notes

The Jets are in the midst of a seven game road trip and will spend Thursday to Sunday in the New York area as they play three games in four nights. Expect to see Chris Mason split the net with Ondrej Pavelec. The Jets beat the Flyers 9-8 on Thursday with nine different players scoring. Mason suffered a slight groin injury in the game but is expected to be okay. There were rumors that Evander Kane had asked the Jets for a trade but his agent denied the rum